Critique Wanted Which one? (A scenario)

The Editor of Rolling Stone magazine is on the phone YELLING at you to email the damn photo.

She's giving you 10 seconds to email it direct to her inbox or a couple of Rolling Stone magazine goons, waiting in a vintage 1956 Cadillac with giant tail fins out in the street, are going to smash down your front door....

.... and then hold you down while one of them crushes your shutter trigger finger with a fine stainless steel nutcracker stolen from a Hooters restaurant two days ago.

They will leave no prints on the nutcracker, and it will never be traced back to the Hooters restaurant because the goons who are moonlighting as food critics will never admit to having been to one. No culinary expert subpoenaed in court will ever sell out one of their own for being at Hooters.

Without your shutter trigger finger, you'll never be able to take a photograph with the same skill and precision again.

Much like how a Marine sniper with a crushed trigger finger will never be able to hit a one-and-quarter mile target with any precision again.

Much like how Liberace with all crushed ten fingers will never be able to .... wear all those glittery 20 carat diamond rings on every single one of his digits ever again.

You have 10 seconds. Which one?

#1
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2)
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The editor won't even notice the difference...and after it's printed in the magazine, they'd likely be indistinguishable.

But if I had to pick one, I'd go with no. 2. The differences all seem fairly subtle to me, but I find I like the singers shirt with the deep shadows. In the 1st one, the brighter and noisier areas just beneath his elbow I find distracting.
 
My reason for 2 is that the hand doesn't obscure the mic, and I have this boring instinct to show as much as possible. Thinking some more about it, I do think the hand obscuring the mic makes the hand gesture stronger, more forceful. But that thinking has just cost me my trigger finger... :eek:
 
Thanks everyone, it's been a great help to hear your opinions. My first instinct was to like #2 but the more I looked at #1, the more I liked it too. But it's good to hear what people are thinking, I'm happier sticking with #2 as the primary shot rather than #1.

Except Luke, he thought he was looking at the same photo. Bah!
 
Actually, the reason why there is a slight difference in the post-processing in the bottom left corner is because in both photos, the bass player is rocking out behind the singer and you can see the headstock and neck of the bass guitar sticking out from behind the singer. I felt the headstock created a visual distraction so I edited it out but made two different creative decisions in the editing between #1 and #2.

So that's a sharp eye for catching that, Luke.
 
Just for interest, I took three very quick shots as soon as I saw the singer strike that pose on stage. Here's the third shot:

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He was sweeping his arm across but it all happened very fast and I regretfully missed a great shot with a fully outstretched arm in the third shot. Nevertheless I'm glad I caught #2.
 
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